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Thinking of buying 50D - need assistance

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Menges88

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G'day all,

I have a Panasonic FZ28 and whilst I love this camera, I have outgrown its capabilities and need good high ISO performance and good AF tracking as I shoot alot of wildlife, primarily birds. ISO 400 on the FZ28 is about as high as I can go without running into bad noise issues. Even 400 is noisy, but still usable. I would much rather use the FZ28 for times when I need a light, easy to carry camera.

First considered the XSi or 450D as it is known here in Australia. However, AF not as good as something like the 40D which is a big thing for me, especially for BIF. Looked at the 40D and it looks to be a nice camera and was going to purchase it. Then I had a look at the 50D as I thought seeing as though I can afford it, why not go for the newer model. The extra resolution with the 50D will help with cropping and the lens microadjustment will also be a handy feature. Regardless of camera body, I will purchase the 400mm f/5.6L prime.

It will be my first dSLR, however I am not a complete beginner in photography and have read extensively and practised as much as I can within the limits of the FZ28. I have never touched any of the auto settings on my FZ28 and have no intentions of using any auto settings on the 50D. I must admit that I am not familiar shooting RAW and converting it, however would of course be willing to learn. I can grasp full manual if I have the time, however mainly stick to Av for birds.

What is your opinion on purchasing the 50D with the 400mm prime? I will mostly shoot birds and wildlife and landscapes to a certain degree (which I will obviously need another lens for). Is the 50D out of my league, should I be settling for something like the 450D instead? I just dont want to purchase a 450D and find I have outgrown it in a few months (like I have with the FZ28). I like to have something which will be of value for at least a few years as I would not be upgrading camera bodies on a regular basis, just adding lenses here and there as required.

Your comments are much appreciated and thanks for your time.

--
Cheers,
Dale

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29394895@N06/

 
I agree. If you are going to invest in an "L" lens get a good body. A lot of folks like the 50D for birds. I don't shoot birds so I can't say.
 
At the moment I think most people agree that a 50D body with 400mm 5.6 L is the perfect birding combination.

The prime is very sharp, and with 15MP you can get more detail out of it, than you could with a 40D.

Since you will often be cropping a lot of bird pictures, the difference in detail will be clearly visible in final prints.

The 40D is great value for money at the moment, but the improvements in the 50D are especially usefull for birders. (I have found AF micro adjustment to be very usefull on my 100-400L)
 
I think it is a great combination. I have a 50D and a 100-400mm, but considers buying the 400mm F/5.6 since it is lighter and most of my shooting is at 400mm.

Somebody who thinks the 50D AF is really good :
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?p=162980#poststop

If at first you don't like the big files, you can reduce the size of the files produced. Ideal for family pictures, but perhaps not for nature and action photography.

greetings,
 
Allthough I'm not in favourite of a 40D v 50D vice versa (you have to buy a body that suits your needs...and your wallet) I find the micro focus adjustment a great feature. My 100-400 is spot on, but my 70-200 2.8 is, needed a little adjustment.

The detail in the shots of the 50D can be very good, allthough this also might be with a 40D (I don't have any experience with this camera).

The extra MP gives you some more crop possibilities.

A few months ago I had to made the same decission as you. Either the 40D or the 50D. Until now I did not regret buying the 50D.

You might check the next link of some shots I took a couple of days ago (including crops)

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=30492005

Good luck whatever camera you buy.

Emile
 
Menges88 said:
Thanks James. The 5D MKII is way out of my price range though. The
50D would be the highest I would be willing to pay for a body at the
moment.
Click to expand...
The 5DmkII would be a poor choice if you are birding and in need of reach. It's tough to beat the 50D/100mm combination "except" you will find the 50D/100-400mm a better choice if you like to go to zoos where a decent zoom range is mandatory.

Be aware of "one" thing when you are deciding on a lens/body combination. On the Canon system ... now pay attention ... you cannot AF at apertures smaller than f/5.6 on a xxD body (or smaller than f/8 on a 1-Series body). "If" you put an extender on a f/5.6 lens it now becomes an f/8 lens (system) and an xxD body will not AF (at all).

Regards,

Joe Kurkjian

Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/jkurkjia



SEARCHING FOR A BETTER SELF PORTRAIT
 
I agree, the combination is a good one, but I would favour the 100-400 as it does not limit you to the 400 end of the zoom. The image quality is not quite up to the 400mm prime, but I've never had any complaints. I don't have any "fantastic" photos to share at the moment (the weather has been particularly bad in the UK since I bought my 50D) however, I have had really good results with the 100-400 on my 40D. Don't forget that, as the 50D has a crop sensor with a 1.6 multiplier, your 100-400 actually becomes a 160-640 zoom - a very useful range.

Dave.
 
I recently replaced my 30D with a 50D and the upgrade was significant in every area except battery life which is a non factor. The auto focus on the 50D is greatly improved. If money is not a difference maker, I'd recommend the 50D with the 400f5.6 if birds and wildlife are your main objectives. The 50D will give you more leeway in cropping over the 40D and the performance of the camera will amaze you.

Here are a few bird shots from the first few couple of weekends with the 50D.

http://www.pbase.com/dgc_arts/birds_2008
 
Sorry JAK, this is only partly true
Using my 100-400mm Canon L IS with either 40D or 450D it does focus provided :
1/- you use the well known "tape trick"

2/- use preferably only one AF spot/sensor, preferably one of the 4 diagonal ones, t(his does create an offset but this is not an annuisance because you usually crop suc shots
With the 40D in such conditions the AF is perfect even indoors
With the 450D you need a bit more light

And, the tracking AF does work well evnthough it's slower than without the extender, no lunch is free!

I have taken thousands of shots with such a combo : 100-400 at 400mm plus kenko 1.4x taped without any problem

Robert
 
Thank you all for your valuable comments; much appreciated.

I was looking at the 100-400L at first, but then I realised that basically all of my bird shots are at full zoom on my FZ28. With my Nikon TC attached, the effective range of my camera is around 729mm. Even at this length, I find myself at the end of this range 98% of the time. The 100-400L may be a good all in one solution for wildlife, however I intend to buy the 70-200 f/2.8L at some stage, so would much rather use the prime for my birds and use the 70-200 for more midrange photography/low-end telephoto photography.

I can never have enough zoom when it comes to birds, so thought it best to stick with the prime; the extra sharpness provided by the prime and the fact it is a little less bulky will also help a great deal. IS is no big deal for me as I will be shooting at shutter speeds where camera shake is not an issue.

I have seen in another post that a person who purchased the 50D is a first-time dSLR owner and is happy with the results, so that does put my mind to rest somewhat. Being young, I am very hesitant spending alot of money only to find I got it all wrong (hasnt happened yet though, thankfully!)

--
Cheers,
Dale

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29394895@N06/

 
the convergence to focus is oscillatory; that setup will "finally" converge to the correct plane of focus on stationary targets but the ringing is unacceptable when tracking moving objects.

Regards,

Joe Kurkjian

Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/jkurkjia



SEARCHING FOR A BETTER SELF PORTRAIT
 
Best of luck. It sounds as though you have your priorities well thought out. Be sure to post some pics with your new camera.
 
Get the 50D! The only other possibility, the 40D, has fewer pixels (less resolution) and is marginally less good at high ISOs across the whole image (not at 100% crops) and even though the 50D has the same focussing system is faster to auto focus due to the Digic 4 processor.

It is fast to respond, has a fast frame rate, a terrific rear screen and as you point out lens microadjustment as well as a shipload of features and adjustment that will take a while to get used to and master.

However, don't expect the camera and lens to do the work for you! To get the best from the combination your technique needs to be "spot on" but when it is, the rewards are stunningly sharp and detailed photos with excelent colour and so little noise up to 400-800 ISO that noise reduction will not be required.
 
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